1. Field of the Invention
The present invention refers to a claw for a milking machine, comprising a housing defining an inner space, at least one inlet member, which via a milk conduit is intended to connect the inner space of the housing to a teat of an animal to be milked, and an outlet pipe which via a conduit member is intended to connect the inner space of the housing to a milk collecting member of the milking machine, the housing having a center axis extending through the claw in a downward direction and essentially vertically when the claw is in an operating position, and said inlet members being provided, with respect to the center axis, below the outlet pipe in said operating position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One milking claw is known from EP-B418 260 and comprises a housing having a center axis which in the operating position of the claw extends vertically, an upper portion and a lower portion. The inner space of the housing forms a chamber for receiving milk via four inlet openings which via short milk conduits are connected to a respective teatcup of the milking machine. From the chamber extends an outlet member, which via a milk conduit is connected to a milk collecting unit of the milking machine. Both the outlet member and the inlet openings are fixedly provided on the upper portion of the housing and thus are not movable in relation to each other. The outlet member comprises an outlet nipple which extends radially outwardly, perpendicularly from the center axis of the housing. The inlet openings are provided in pairs in such a manner that one of the pairs is intended to be connected to the teatcups to be applied to the front teats of the cow and the rear pair is intended for the teatcups to be applied to the rear teats of the cow. The inlet openings are provided on a conical surface of the upper portion at the same height with respect to the vertical center axis.
Since the milk conduit is comprised of a relatively heavy and rigid transport hose, a torque acts on the claw in a vertical direction. This means that the claw will be turned downwardly and the load is not uniformly distributed to the different teats. Such an uneven load may result in an obstruction of the milk flow from certain teats and in the fact that the milk yield from the udder is hindered.
It is known to utilize devices, for example in the form of an arm, which hold the claw and/or the milk conduit in a proper position. Despite the fact that such auxiliary equipment makes the milking plant more expensive, such devices are hindering and require additional work to be applied.
SE-B-449 154 discloses a milking machine having another type of claw comprising a housing having an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion is provided with four inlet nipples, which via conduits connect the inner space of the housing to a respective teatcup of the milking machine, and the lower portion is provided with four outlet nipples, which via conduits connect the inner space of the housing to a milk-collecting member of the milking machine. In the inner space of the housing there are four partition walls dividing the inner space of the housing into four equal chambers, an inlet nipple and an outlet nipple being connected to each chamber. The upper portion may be rotated in fixed 90.degree. steps in relation to the lower portion in such a manner that each inlet nipple may be displaced to be opposite another outlet nipple. Thus, the four outlet nipples are located below the inlet nipples and extend outwardly and obliquely downwardly in such a manner that the milk conduit will describe a curved path.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,429,983 discloses another claw having four inlet nipples located at the top and an outlet nipple located in a lower portion of the claw and extending obliquely downwardly.
In both of these known claws, however, the outlet nipples are directed obliquely downwardly to facilitate the milk flow from the claw and not in order to reduce the torque of the milk conduit acting on the claw.
Another problem connected to the horizontal outlet nipple is that the person handling the claw frequently is gripping the claw about the outlet nipple. The claw together with all hoses and teatcups is relatively heavy and the horizontal extension of the outlet nipple is disadvantageous from an ergonomic point of view, since it results in a grip leading to a great stress on the wrist.